Scripture Queries and Answers: Offering of the Firstfruits

From: Bible Treasury: Volume 7

Narrator: Chris Genthree

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Offering of the Firstfruits

From: Questions and Answers on Scripture: From the Bible Treasury

Firstfruits; Christ in the Offerings, The Offering of

From: Letters 3

Scripture Queries and Answers: Offering of the Firstfruits

From: Scripture Queries and Answers

Leviticus 2:12‑16 • 1 min. read • grade level: 6

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Q. Lev. 2:12-16¹²As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savor. ¹³And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. ¹⁴And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. ¹⁵And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering. ¹⁶And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord. (Leviticus 2:12‑16). Why were the first-fruits to be offered and not burnt? What was intended by the corn out of full ears? — J.D.

A. The first-fruits were to be offered but not burnt, because leaven was in them; and they could not be in themselves a sweet savor: hence a sin-offering was offered with them. (Lev. 23:17-19.) They represent the Church, being (as may be seen in Lev. 23) the offering of the day of Pentecost; not the Church in the unity of the body, but as formed among Jews on earth on that day. The first of the first-fruits, the corn out of full ears, is Christ risen, offered on the morrow of the sabbath after the Passover; it represents Christ Himself, and hence (Lev. 23) there was no sin-offering. If we look at it in Lev. 2 it is still Christ. Oil and frankincense are put on it. It is an offering made by fire without leaven. It is Christ looked at as man, tried by divine trial of judgment, but perfect to be offered to God. The expressions are somewhat remarkable—geresh, carmel, “corn mature out of full ears;” it may be, produce of the fruitful field, the latter being the known sense of carmel; the meaning of geresh, was certain. But the general meaning of the offering is pretty plain—Christ in His manhood, sinless and fully proved, presented to God with oil and frankincense of acceptable odor, the first-fruits—fruits of man to God.

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